Strip, Kit or Profile: Three Ways to Buy the Same Light
The same LED tape is sold three ways - as a bare reel, as a packaged retail kit, and built into an aluminium profile - and the right one depends entirely on who you sell to.
The bare reel
Cheapest per metre, and useless to anyone who does not already have a controller and driver. Sensible for installers and for buyers who stock control separately.
The packaged kit
The documented kit specification covers RGB and white in 5050 and 3528 chips, at 30 or 60 LEDs per metre, with 24-key or 44-key IR controllers, PCB widths of 8mm and 10mm on 5000mm reels, at 36W or 72W per roll, packed in colour box or blister.
The profile
An extruded aluminium body turns tape into a linear luminaire: it takes heat away from the strip, hides the dots behind a diffuser and gives a fixing method. The CRST-LL series covers recessed, surface, corner and pendant, with and without flange, from 8mm super slim upward.
How to choose
Sell to retail, buy kits. Sell to installers, buy reels and control separately. Sell to architects and joiners, buy profile. Most distributors end up carrying all three.
References This Note Refers To
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Read →Questions On This Note
Can I buy the kit contents separately?
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